Coca-Cola Sheet Cake

Why do I always feel like making sheet cakes in the summer? Maybe it’s the heat? Or the potlucks? Or just because chocolate sheet cakes are so flipping good?

When I was a kid, as you know, we traveled around in an RV for two weeks every summer. We would drive for 2 weeks in a big circle, starting from San Francisco. Because of those trips I’ve seen all of the states until you hit Colorado. It’s also why I hate camping, but whatevs. I got to see a lot!

When I was 15 we went back east to Washington DC, then drove to Boston, so I’ve seen a few parts of the northern southern states. (Is DC considered the south or the east? I don’t even know.) The only place I haven’t seen in the U.S. that I really want to see is the south. Florida, Georgia, the Carolinas, Louisiana, Kentucky…I really hope I have a chance to eat my way through all of those states some day. Because you know that the reason I travel is for food.

Obviously.

The food of an area is the soul of that area, don’t you think? Crab in San Francisco, cheese in Oregon, BBQ in Texas, macadamia nuts in Hawaii. I associate food with places. Instead of souvenirs, I buy pastries.

Since I’ve never really been to the south (unless you count Miami but it was such a whirlwind I don’t), whatever I know about southern food comes from the internet and TV. When I think of a good old southern dessert, I think of red velvet, cobbler, peach pie, and Coca-Cola Sheet Cake.

I’ve been wanting to make a sheet cake F.O.R.E.V.E.R. but just haven’t. So when Ovation TV emailed and asked if I’d post a southern dessert to announce the new show Southern Uncovered, I jumped at the chance.

As if I needed a reason to make a decadent chocolate sheet cake filled with my favorite soda. Pffft.

Have you ever watched OvationTV? It’s a network dedicated to celebrating the arts. How cool is that? If you’ve never seen it, check your local listings; most carriers have it. (On DirectTv it’s channel 274.)

Their newest show, Southern Uncovered with the Lee Brothers, Matt and Ted (the Lee Brothers) explore different cities in the south to uncover the unique and unexpected sides of southern cuisine. They introduce us to people, food, and culture that define the south. Their list of cities are all ones I hope to visit one day: Charleston, Atlanta, Dallas, New Orleans, Asheville, and Louisville.

I wonder if they’ll taste a sheet cake filled with cola? It would be a shame if they missed out on this one. You guys, this cake rocked my socks off.

This cake is SO easy to make. Really, it is. And, it’s egg-free! That’s right, no eggs at all. The buttermilk, baking soda, and soda bubbles give the cake what it needs to rise. The soda doesn’t add much in the way of flavor to the cake, but it acts the leavening and keeps it so moist!

I’ve been wanting to try my hand at a soda cake forever, but I didn’t really want to use a box mix. I kind of felt like making a from-scratch sheet cake. I decided to adapt my favorite chocolate cupcake recipe and turn it into this cake. I’d used that cake recipe to make a layer cake before, so I knew it would work, but I had to scale it down to fit in my sheet pan.

A sheet cake is baked in a sheet pan, which is a 10x15x1 inch pan. It’s the same pan you make jelly/cake roll cakes in. You simply mix up the dry ingredients then whisk in the wet, no mixer needed. I just whisked it all together and poured it into the pan.

Once the cake is baked, you make the frosting. The frosting is the BEST PART. Oh my gosh, you guys. I love a cooked frosting because it stays gooey and fabulous. It’s way better than a traditional buttercream. You bring the butter, cocoa, and soda to a boil, then you stir in the remaining ingredients and pour it over the just baked hot cake. Once the cake cools the frosting gets a little shell but stays gooey underneath.

It’s fabulous.

Sheet cakes are the best for a potluck, no matter where you live, because they feed a lot of people. Unless you attack it with a fork, that is. (And be careful, because I guarantee you’ll want to do that with this cake!)

Coca-Cola Sheet Cake

Yield:24-30 servings

This Cola Sheet Cake is super chocolatey and feeds a crowd! It's an easy recipe and is egg free!

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray a 10x15 sheet cake pan with cooking spray (I like the kind with flour).

Whisk flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, salt, and coffee granules in a large bowl. Set aside.

Whisk oil, cola, buttermilk, and vanilla in a measuring cup. Stir wet ingredients into dry and stir until just blended and smooth.

Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake for about 15-22 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean 2” from the edge of the pan. The cake will somewhat spring back when touched.

As soon as the cake comes out of the oven, make the frosting. Heat the butter, cocoa, cola, and coffee granules in a small saucepan until it boils and the butter is melted. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla, salt, and powdered sugar. Pour evenly and carefully over cake, spreading as needed. Sprinkle with chopped nuts.

Cool completely before serving. Store loosely covered on counter or in refrigerator for up to 3 days.

I haven't tried using diet soda but I have heard it won't work well in cakes like this. Use regular soda for best results!

I’ve always WANTED to try a cola sheet cake! Seriously, it’s been on my to-bake list forever. I sometimes think you and I have the same baking brain.
So as a D.C. resident, I can tell ya that we’re not the South. 🙂 It’s a bizarre city, full of people who came from somewhere else. But I love it!
And I think I’d love Ovation TV, too. Gotta leap on that bandwagon!

Congrats for the TV show recipe, you must be so happy! I love the look and sound of this cake, I have never tried it but I bet it is good. However, I dislike cola but it gives the cake the lovely texture and ease-factor. Can you taste the cola in the cake once baked?

That is so cool that you have been able to travel so much of the US! I’ve only seen a handful of states, and have a dream to road-trip the country some day. Sheet cakes seriously ARE the bomb. My mom just mentioned yesterday that she would like me to make her one. I think I’m going to have to try this cola version of yours!!

I have never made a cola cake but have always wanted to! The reations with the bubbles and baking soda and buttermilk always have me intrigued! This is a GORGEOUS cake!! and I wish I had the need for a whole chocolate sheet cake right now b/c I want to make it!

The food of an area is most certainly its soul! And that coca-cola in the cake adds such a nice depth and fluffiness! I certainly don’t blame you for loving sheet cakes in the summer; they really are the perfect summer time dessert. Wait…… actually, they’re the perfect any time dessert. Haha. Thanks for sharing, Dorothy! 😀

I’ve also been wanting to try my hand at a cola cake. It just seems like such a summer way to bake a cake, although I’m not really sure why. I’ve just moved and have a new cable operator, so I’m going to have to check to see if I get Ovation. Southern Uncovered sounds like something interesting my husband and I would both enjoy – we also travel primarily for the food 😉

My mom & some of her friends did catering for 30 years. They did a 9″ x 13″ version on many occasions. I’ve had this with Coke, Diet Coke, Sprite, Dr. Pepper, ginger ale… The best is Coke! I’ve never tried this as a sheet cake. Sounds interesting..

I live about an hour north of DC in Maryland and I can tell you that it is technically in the south. If you ask anyone around here though, we see ourselves as more of a middle state. It is the Mid-Atlantic afterall! This cake looks delicious though. I love the idea of putting soda in a cake!

There is just something about a sheet cake in the summer that is just so good! And of course traveling = eating all the fun food you can find! It’s the only way to travel 🙂 I love the soda in this fun cake…and that frosting needs to happen here very soon! Love it!

I am always looking for more eggless dessert recipes for my dad. My mom is restricting his diet since he had a minor heart attack not too long ago. This looks like a winning recipe that he would definitely enjoy!

The reason to travel is food – I totally agree! When I went to Chicago a few weeks ago we planned everything around dinner reservations…haha. LOVE the look of this Coca-Cola sheet cake. It just screams Atlanta 🙂

Yes, this is a good Southern cake! I put a recipe for it in my Southern recipes ebook, in fact. I can’t believe you’ve never visited the South…you totally should. Chattanooga, TN is a great place to start-I can tell you all the places to go (and especially where to eat)! 😉

Thank you so much for posting this recipe! I am gluten free so I had to make a few minor adjustments but this cake was still quick, easy and delicious. I accidentally doubled the frosting so I quickly poked some holes and turned this into a poke cake and it was amazing! Thanks for always having delicious and easily adaptable recipes!

More frosting is definitely always better- especially this one. We saved the extra and put it on everything! I subbed out the dry ingredients for Betty Crocker Gluten Free Devils food mix. I tried for years to make my own sub with flour blends, but nobody does it better than Betty! It makes a smaller amount of cake so I baked mine in a casserole dish, but you could easily use two boxes to make a full sheet.